Method of anesthetizing



Oct. 14, 1941. I w REYNOLDS 2,258,863

METHOD OF ANESTHETIZING Filed March 27, 1939 farlewabne 'Rebl Patented Oct. 14, 1941 Rapids, 'Mich.

signor'of one-half to JamesA; RickerfiGrand I This invention relatesto a. method of and apparatus for anesthetizing body tissues. {One place where the invention is particularly .useful is in the extraction of teeth. Also it isuseful in many other operations in dentistry as. indrilling and otherwise working onteeth preparatory to filling cavities therein: Therearemanyn'other places wherextissues may be anesthetized other than in dentistry, and myinvention in use is not to be specifically limited to any particular place or places ofuse." r I One we'll-known way of anesthetizing tissues is to freeze" them with '.a..consequent deadening of nerves in the so-called frozen tissues which, thereupon, may be. cut or otherwise operated upon without the production of the pain which would occur if the nerves insuch tissues were alive and normally active. 'The 'so called' freezing is generallyobtained' by projecting a high volatile liquid against thesurface of the tissue; Its rapid evaporation absorbs heat which is drawn from the tissues-with a resultantlowei ing of temperature and freezing of the tissues. The direct application of-the volatile liquid alone against the tissues has heretofore been subject to the draw-back that the penetration of the anesthetization wasvery limited, -so that for-any thing except merely surface work the freezing method of anesthetization was oflittle value-l With my invention there is directed againstthe tissue which is to be anesthetized "a fine stream of the highly volatile. liquid and also oxygen is simultaneously projected to the'samepoint under pressure, the flow of oxygen andof. the 'lvolati'le liquid meeting at thetis'sueb ltis to be under stood'that the oxygen may be intermingled with, other gases, particularly inert gas'esisuch as iii-- trogen, so that ordinary air which; is very largely a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen sei'ves' very well in lieu of oxygen alone. I

My inventionis directed to -this process of anesthetization stated and to the provision of a very simple and practical apparatus for carrying out the method. I have found that with such method of anesthetization the anesthetic effect penetrates very materially into the tissues, so much so that in the extracting of teeth the penetration is suflicient to completely deaden the nerve of the tooth and also the tissues surrounding the roots of the tooth, whereby the tooth may be very quickly and readily extracted without pain to the patient.

An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in connec- Fig. V1 is a side elevation illustrative of .the method of the invention and a preferred form ofapparatusto use.

Fig. 2 is asomewhat enlarged partial longitudinalisectionandside elevation of theholder for the vhlatileiliquidand the attached tube which carries .thexox'ygen or oxygen mixture r 7 Fig. 3 .is '.a. transverse section through the holder. Fig.- 4 is .a'view similar to Fig. 2, showing a slight modification for .use with a somewhat dif: ferent. typeaof bottle holder. forthejvolatile liquid, and 1 1 5?.is a fragmentary sideielevationof the open 'end'of the. holder for the'bo'ttle.

. Like lreference characters .Iefer vto like parts in the different figures of the drawing. p .The' tube. I, of glass usually, at one. end is con-j stricted and has; an outlet .Zwith asmall outlet opening through. whichv a. fine.-stream..of-. the highly volatile liquid, for :example, ethyl chloride, is projected. s; Adjacentlshis nozzle end 2 a spring actuated lever 3.is.pivotally mounted Whichcontrolsa" closure cap .4;normally heldover the open end:o:the nozzle end 2. to 'preventescape. of .the liquid: But-by xoperatingthe .lever .3, as-.indicated in Fig. :1.,..t0:m0Ve the'cap' tout ofthe way, theliquid may beprojected, suchprojectionybeing caused by an evaporationof liquid within, the tube .1 therebygenerating pressure suchthat the liquidwill be projected outwardly when the cap 4, islmoved to open position in ,a fine continuous stream for a considerable distance. ;Such tubular holderforlethyl chloride or the like and the leverestructure at the endgdesc'ribedisvery old and'well-known. j,

In one form of the aparatusthis tube is placed within a metal tubularholder 5 .closed at one end. and open at the other, within which adjacent its closed end a cushion of sponge rubber, 6 is adapted to be. .1ocated.- The glass container l.is inserted in the holder tube 5, as shown in Fig. 2, and is held at its inner end against the cushioning rubber 6 by a yielding coiled spring 1 connected at. its ends to the flange 5a around the open end of the metal holder 5 as shown, the middle portion of the spring bearing against the outer end portion of the container tube I; and the spring being stretched and tensioned, the container tube l is held within the metal holder 5. Alongside the member 5 a tube 8 of small diameter preferably of copper and having a small passageway therethrough is permanently secured. Such tube 8 has an integral section 9 extion with the accompanying drawing, in which: tending therefrom and beyond and away from the nozzle outlet 2. The flexibility of the copper tubing used permits the free section 9 to be bent as may be needed so that the paths of the volatile liquid out of the nozzle at 2 and of oxygen and air out of the free end of the section 9 of the tube, will come together at a selected point a distance beyond the outlet end of the section 9.

Oxygen compressed within a drum ill. or air. compressed therein may be let out of the drum by opening a valve at H. A flexible tubing 12 of rubber or the like connects the outlet of the drum H) with the free end of the tubular section 8, as shown. Thus on opening the valve [.1 the compressed air or oxygen will be ejectedsubstantially in a straight lineirom the, outlet, of

the section 9. Moving the cap no its open position as in Fig. 1, the volatileliquid is projected in a stream indicated at 14; and the valve ll being opened, air will be projected substantiallyin i other words to a considerable depth, and; the

nerves in such tissue to the depth that the anesthetization takes place are deadened and the tissue may be painlessly cut or otherwise operated upon. i

In Fig. 4 themetal holder I6 is likewise closed at one end with a sponge rubber cushion. G adjacent the closed end. A wall of the holder l5. near the open end is provided with a bayonetslot as at I] (Fig. 5). The bottle I8 which contains the volatile liquid will be cast with a lug l9 which may pass down the bayonetslot, then on turning the bottle l3 andthe holder I6. rela-. tive to each other, the lug (Sis-located in the lateral branch of the bayonet slot. The bottle has an outlet nozzle at normally cappedby. the

cap 4 carried by the spring actuated lever 3.

The flexible tube 8, the free end section 9 and.

mounted at one side of and lengthwise of the holder it. This is substantially the same as the structure shown in Fig. 2, differing only in minor. detail, but so far as the method is concerned, the simultaneous projection of the volatile liquid and the oxygen and air to the same point against a tissue which is to be treated is the same with both forms of apparatus.

The herein described method has proven to be exceptionally satisfactory in practice. paratus required is simple and easily constructed.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patentis' as follows:

I claim:

1. The herein described method of anesthetiza- The ap tion which consists, in projecting a highly volatile liquid in a continuous stream against a selected portion of the surface of tissue to be anesthetized, and simultaneously directing a continuous stream of gas under constant pressure against said surface at substantially the same selected surface portion, so that the two streams will meet at substantially their point of contact on said tissue.

2. The herein described method of anesthetization which consists, in simultaneously directing a. thin continuous stream of a highly volatile liquid and a stream of oxygen under constant pressure against a preselected portion of the surface, of tissue to. be anesthetized, so that the two streams will meet at substantially their point of contact on said tissue.

3. The herein described method of anesthetization which consists, in directing a thin continuous stream of a highly volatile liquid under constant pressure at a predetermined portion of the surface of tissue to be anesthetized, and concurrently directing a separate continuous stream of air containingoxygen. under constant pressure against said surface of thetissue so as to meet said stream of liquid at substantially the same point of contact on said tissue.

4. The; method of anesthetization which consists,,in providing a container for a highly volatile liquid and. having a small. outlet therefor from which a continuous thin stream of theliquid may be projected with a constant velocity, directing said stream, of highly volatile liquid against. a selected'portionofithe surface of tissue to be anesthetized andlocated at a distance from the point of outlet. of said liquid from the container, and directing a separate small diameter tube; toward said portion of the surface of'the' tissue and forcing oxygen through and out of the tube, in a continuous stream concurrently with the how of liquid out of said container, whereby the liquid and the'oxygen meet at the selected portion of the surface of the tissue to be anesthetized.

5. In a construction of the class described, a a-holder for a container of highly volatile liquid, said container having a small diameter outlet beyond an end of the holder, means for closing said outlet adapted to be manually moved to open position, a bendable tube of small diameter connected to said holder and having a free end portion extending beyond the outlet, end of the container, and means for selectively controlling the passage of an oxygen carrying gas through said tube, said bendable tube at its free section being capable of change of position so as to bring the path of the. liquid projected from the container and of the gas passing from the tube into convergence at a, preselected point beyond the outlet ends of said tube and container.

EARLE WAYNE REYNOLDS. 

